“Then we will travel to Woodlands,” Holis nods without hesitation.
“And after?” Mana prompts.
I shake my head, “I have no plan after Woodlands. Bardot first and Woodlands after, as soon as we can make that happen.”
“We are with you, Alex,” Cal responds.
“Yes,” Mana nods.
“Agreed,” Holis replies.
I take a deep breath and look at the men with gratitude, “thank you. It has been a damn interesting trip so far but I am ready to be home.”
I move through the morning exercises with the same determination that gripped me earlier. Cal and I are sweating profusely by the end of our hand to hand session and quickly move on to practicing with my larger dagger. I begin hitting the target from my position at every throw. It’s not as close to the middle of the target as I would like, but it’s also not at the edge or on the ground. I quickly thank Cal and move on to Holis who sets me to work with two quivers of arrows this time. By the end of our session I’m hitting the red ring sitting in the middle of the target at every loosed arrow.
“If I spot any tracks on the road to Gaumond we can take a small detour and trail them,” Holis says, “otherwise, we’ll continue with tracking in the Bell Grove once we’re home.”
“Thank you,” I nod and begin walking back to the inn by myself, “I’ll see you all when we saddle up before breakfast.”
Holis and Mana turn to Cal with earnest eyes as I walk away from the three of them. Cal quickly runs up next to me, his hands darting through his thick auburn hair.
“Is everything okay, Alex?”
“Yes, just ready to be home,” I state again.
“You seem…” Cal peers at me quietly, “different.”
“Different?”
I nearly scoff. I certainly feel different.
“Quiet and thinking.Too quiet. We want to help you.”
“And I want your help,” I turn to give him a small smile, “we started these travels two years ago with the four of us. Let’s continue and end them with the four of us.”
Cal grimaces at the comment but continues walking with me all the way to the inn, never leaving my side. I push through the door and catch Dnes behind the pub counter and request a hot water for a bath as Cal does the same.
“I’ll see you in the courtyard,” I give him a small goodbye and move down the hall to my room. Golem is standing quietly in a corner of the wall when I walk in, Storm perched on the bedpost with his head and wings tucked into his body and sleeping.
“I’m going to bathe and pack, then we’ll meet everyone in the courtyard to set off for Gaumond,” I tell him.
He quickly walks up to me and grabs my shoulders, brown eyes searching my face.
“I’m alright, Golem,” I nod and move past him, spending a long time soaking in the bath. Once it grows cold I step out and begin packing, purposely letting my hair dry straight and forward as an ode to the human of me. I don’t think I’ll part from that style for a while.
After throwing my travel bag across my shoulder and feeling Golem’s jar nestled against Willem’s old green marble set and a few books, I pull on my brown coat and gently wake up Stormfall, placing him in the crook of my neck.
“I’ll be atop Millie for the ride to Margaret’s but I can unscrew you once we get there,” I glance to Golem.
He nods at me silently before I let my fingers dip down into my bag, closing his jar.
Cal, Alanna and Barnes are already situated atop their horses when I walk out of the stables with Millie, as are Desmond and the Prince. Both glance at me with calm and cool eyes at the same time, their features settled into Discerni indifference. I give Desmond a small nod in greeting and then bow to the Prince, walking Millie next to Cal before hopping in the saddle. Holis and Mana join just shortly after.
“This is everyone,” Keane states, moving Ash to the middle of our group. I look around, noticing that we’re missing the three human soldiers, Lord Daniel and Claymore from the original group.
“It has come to my attention that our Knowledge friends would like to make haste to Bardot as quickly as possible…”
My eyes narrow on him.
